Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge

Don’t sweat about the small stuff

Nick takes the Atari ST version of Magnetic Field’s racing game for a quick spin

» Atari St » 1992 » Magnetic Fields i’m the sort of person that loves adaptations – i can’t help but love the slightly different interpretations of a concept when it migrates across various entertainment media. It’s why you’ll find both the

Scott Pilgrim comics and film on my shelves, as well as the Battle Royale novel, films and manga. As a result, I tend to enjoy doing the Conversion Capers you often find in this fine publication, and sometimes I just compare games across platforms for fun.

One such occasion came recently when I took a look at Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge, which I’d grown up with as Lotus II: RECS on the Mega Drive. I was aware that the games were substantially similar to play, and was more interested in comparing the music between versions. I knew the Amiga tunes were great and I’ll always love the sound of the Mega Drive’s YM2612, but I was interested to see how the Atari ST’S relatively limited YM2149 chip would handle these tunes. I was pleasantly surprised, too – the strong compositions were still intact when run through the ST, with all the energy and character of the other versions.

Some people baulk at the idea of enjoying games on ‘lesser’ platforms, screaming, “Why would you play that version?” But surely we can live and let live – if the creativity of the developers shines through despite technological restrictions, that’s all that matters. Besides, it’s a fine racer on any platform, no matter what the music sounds like.